ONE HEALTHY PLANET:
A Community of Humans, Animals, and Environments
Urban + Rural Vocations and Learning (1912) Hugo Munsterberg, psychologist, 1863 - 1916 The Vocation of the Architect The motives of the architect, besides personal gain and honor, are, in the first place, aesthetic ones. Every new task is a problem in art to solve…but the demand would not be fulfilled if the solution were not in every way adjusted to the practical needs.
Form Follows Function Louis Sullivan in 1896 A global and local perspective - simultaneously No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend’s or of thine own were; any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. John Donne, 1624
As architects and designers in the 21st century doing green sustainable design we should be thinking that Form follows Culture, Climate, and Place as well as Function. The rural world is the cradle of human civilization, the blood vein for human sustainability, the cornerstone to the national safety and development of all countries, and the hope for a green and eco-friendly civilization for the future.
WRDC Conference October 2017 • If I wasn’t an architect I would probably be a dairy farmer - I like cows and farms
• Agricultural landscapes inspire me to visit and sketch
Cows in Minnesota • I would love to tango
Montepulciana hill town in Italy Tango dancers in Argentina Rural Design and Urban Design: Healing the Divide Urbanization and rapid change in America and around the world has created a significant divide between urban and rural people.
Architects today have the greatest opportunity to link urban and rural issues through design thinking to find and implement sustainable ways that cities, towns, buildings and limited rural and urban land uses and water resources can be better shaped and utilized in the present without compromising for the future.
Minnesota AIA Convention, November 15, 2017 Dewey Thorbeck, FAIA, FAAR A recent survey of rural residents by Professor Katherine Cramer of the U of Wisconsin found three issues strongly felt by rural people:
1. Rural communities are not being listened to by state governments and when they do provide assistance it is top down and not what they need.
2. More public resource is being devoted to urban areas.
3. Rural people feel that they are not respected by urban people.
Cramer’s work confirms findings by the U of MN Center for Rural Design (now part of the MN Design Center) Previous Urban and Rural Design Guides Kevin Lynch The Image of the City (1960) Wrote about mental maps that city people use to understand their surroundings including: Paths Edges Districts Nodes Landmarks He shaped the broad concept of urban design that continues today.
Christian Norberg-Schulz Genius Loci: Towards a Phenomenology of Architecture (1979) Wrote: “Since ancient times the genius loci or the spirit of place has been recognized as the concrete reality man has to face and come to terms with in his daily life. Architecture means to visualize the genius loci, and the task of the architect is to create meaningful places, whereby he helps man to dwell.”
These ideas are enhanced when urban and rural design is connected. Urban and Rural Design Linked Together
The Medici Effect – Innovation comes from diverse industries, cultures, and disciplines when they intersect. Franz Johansson (2004 Harvard Business School Press) Critical issues facing urban and rural people:
1. Climate change
2. Food security
3. Water resources
4. Renewable energy
5. Poverty and economic development
6. Health – human, animal, environmental
These are worldwide issues that design thinking can help resolve Design finds and connects the appropriate urban and rural issues to find a good solution
Design is a problem-solving process Ecosystem communities in North America
Ecosystems in North America are varied and cross the landscape creating their distinct landscape character
They symbolize the connectivity and importance of crossing boundaries in design thinking •Crossing borders – a systemic/interdisciplinary framework using design to nurture regional connections and promote economic development in Minnesota
Minnesota in 1895 based on Tom Stinson - State Economist & Minnesota Vision 2058 Public Land Survey from 1785 Tom Gillespy – State Demographer THRIVING BY DESIGN proposal for regional cooperation Center for Rural Design in 2008 Metropolitan Transect – Today and Future?
Urban
Rural Transect Metropolitan Transect – Today and Future? What is Rural Design? It is a methodology to bring design as a problem-solving process to rural regions to nurture human ingenuity, entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation
It provides an opportunity to reflect upon and integrate human and natural systems into a sustainable design process to improve quality of life – urban and rural
Old Russia Wooden Orthodox Cathedral in Irkutsk, Siberia Evidence-based rural design – a two-way street Rural communities today are very diverse with multiple characteristics and problems:
•Agriculture communities
•Political communities
•Economic communities
Glenorchy, New Zealand •Cultural/social communities
•Heritage communities
•Place communities
•Indigenous communities
Chuan Di Xia, China Why is linking Rural Design and Urban Design important? •Rural and urban landscapes changed slowly until the 1960s
•Over past 60 years there have been Chile Market enormous changes impacting quality of life, economy, and environment – urban and rural
•Climate change, food supply, renewable energy, water resources, poverty, and health – will further impact Myanmar Market for years to come
•By 2050 there may be another 2.5 billion people on the planet. How do we shape land uses today so future generations can also shape theirs Morocco Market Urban Design & Rural Design Perspectives
Urban Design is the shaping of Rural Design is the shaping of the rural urban public space with landscape with small towns and buildings buildings focusing on the in the open landscape like these steel pedestrian experience like the grain elevators in Nebraska bank in Owatonna, MN designed by Louis Sullivan
Two different design perspectives that need to be linked for shaping a healthy and prosperous future Thorbeck Architects – 1970 to 2017
Minnesota Zoo Purina Farms in St. Louis, MO U MN Crookston Ag & Equine Center
International Wolf Center in Ely MCAD Studio Additions Fort Snelling State Park Visitor Center
Teddy Bear Park in Stillwater Norway House Culture and Event Center, Minneapolis Center for Rural Design (CRD) – 1997 to 2016 CRD was part of College of Design & College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences at U of MN to bring the problem-solving process of design to rural issues.
CRD was an award winning multi-disciplinary research and design studio that worked to empower rural communities to find innovative solutions to rural problems in the Midwest, North America, and worldwide.
The Center for Rural Design ceased operation on April 6, 2016 when state funding confiscated by CFANS! Thorbeck books published by Routledge in UK
2012 2017 Agricultural Landscapes: Seeing Rural Through Design Third Book in the Trilogy to be published January 2019 Urban agricultural - opportunities/issues
Urban Chickens in Minnesota Urban Farms in Italy Urban agriculture is expanding around the world as people seek food security and food quality – involving both animals and plants Urban Community Urban Greenhouses and Gardens and Coffee Shops Hydroponic Farms Integrating human, animal, & environmental wellness
The Human & Animal Bond Girl with calf in Minnesota Nomads in Mongolia moving with Gers
Cows in Sweden Terraces in Thailand Sheep in Italy Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems GIAHS with UN-FAO designation starting in 2002
Hani Rice Terraces in China Mongolia Herdsman Chiloe Island in Chile
Forgotten Agricultural Heritage (Routledge 2017) by Parvis Koohafkan and Miguel A. Altieri Maasai Village in Tanzania Farm in Pisac, Peru GIAHS places can be models for reconnecting food systems and sustainable development worldwide Embrace diversity – design to create excitement Places that succeed in attracting and retaining creative people are more likely to prosper. Richard Florida
Food as a catalyst for wellness and Art as a community event and economic engine – ethnic understanding linking urban steamroller printing event in a rural community and rural at Saint Paul Farmers’ In Minnesota by ArtOrg, Cannon Falls, MN Market – one of the best in the world Building Code Issue: Agricultural buildings are exempt and times have changed!
Traditional dairy barn with 60 cows Dairy barns with 7,500 cows – Riverview Dairy near Morris, MN
Feeding Aisle Rotary Milking Parlor 35 humans and 5,000 cows are working in this building 24 /7 with no building code for life safety Design thinking and the problem solving process
Today we have the opportunity….to unleash the power of design thinking as a means of exploring new possibilities, creating new choices, and bringing new solutions to the world. In the process we may find that we have made our societies healthier, our businesses more profitable, and our own lives richer, more impactful, and meaningful. Change by Design, Tim Brown, 2009
An example is the Cloud Nine project to bring high speed wireless internet access to remote Shang Shui Guo village in rural China
Prof. Mary Ann Ray at the University of Michigan Design opportunities in shaping rural futures
•Design with form following function, climate, culture and place I like to have a man’s knowledge comprehend more than one class of topics, one row of shelves. I like a man who likes to see a fine barn as well as a good tragedy. Ralph Waldo Emerson
De Leon & Primer Architecture Workshop Mason Lane Farm Operations Center Peter Stuchbury, architect near Goshen, Kentucky Deepwater Woolshed near Wagga Wagga, Australia Rural village housing – new architecture based on heritage and culture in China
House for All Seasons – Shija Village in NW China - Jon Lin, architect, University of Hong Kong Rural design with contemporary architecture following function, climate, culture and place in rural China
Jade Valley Winery & Resort – Jade Valley, China – Qingyun Ma, architect and dean of School of Architecture, University of Southern California Green Design – rural farming connections with place – design in Minnesota
Imle Wild Rice Farm
Architecture without Architects to quote Bernard Rudofsky
3 Imle Generations - Paul, Peter and Sarah (who wants to run the farm) Green Design – rural farming connections with place – design in Kentucky Taylor Made Farm
Architecture without Architects
4 sons of the late Joseph Lannon Taylor who wrote Complete Guide to Breeding and Raising Racehorses Global/local point of view – bring design thinking to rural and urban issues and create place!
Bodega Salentein in Argentina – Professor Fengrong Zhang – China Agricultural University - place making that creates a great agricultural rings around Beijing to better link urban and rural vineyard and a great wine! for the benefit of both! Design Thinking & Green Performance Metrics – linking humans, animals, and environments
A work in progress – urban and rural - Long-term green goals: by CSBR at U of MN •Zero carbon •Zero waste •Sustainable water •Sustainable food •Sustainable transport •Sustainable materials •Responsible land use •Sustainable agricultural systems •Sustainable economies •Sustainable human behavior •Sustainable ecosystems
URBAN AND RURAL Rural and Urban Design principles to help shape Sustainable Environments - Worldwide •Social, cultural, historic, artistic, and environmental diversity is rewarding •Empower women to become community leaders and involve youth •Connect human, animal, and environmental health •Sustainable economic development is integral to agricultural production and processing •Sustainable buildings and landscapes must reflect function, culture, climate and place •Food and water systems are interrelated design problems with land uses and transportation •Economic and community viability is crucial to short and long-term, but long-term should take precedence •Harvesting the sun and wind for power is an integral aspect of agriculture •Improving rural and urban quality of life today is primary goal while allowing future generations the ability to shape theirs Think bold – no small design plans – make connections – create a better world!
Machu Picchu in Peru Great Wall in China Seeing the world through the eyes of an architect
Orvieto Hill Town in Italy Lofoten Islands, Norway Arizona Cave Dwelling
Barn in New Brunswick, Canada Harbor Shops in Homer, Alaska Borgund Stavekirke, Norway Architecture reflecting function, culture, climate, and place
Gaudi in Barcelona, Spain Sacred Way in Beijing, China Quepos Market, Costa Rica
Campo di Fiori in Rome, Italy Trulli houses in southern Italy Uluru (Ayers Rock) in Australia Summary: Architects and design thinking can help heal the divide between urban and rural by: •Providing information to citizens and policy makers •Promoting understanding of culture, climate, and place •Using design thinking as a methodology to resolve design issue and a process for community involvement •Defining potentials for innovation, holistic thinking, creativity, and entrepreneurship •Creating spirit of place to enhance economic opportunity •Designing to shape and create character of place •Designing to allow future generations to shape theirs
Think BOLD and do GOOD! Thank you!
Dewey Thorbeck, FAIA, FAAR d@thbk ONE HEALTHY PLANET:
A Community of Humans, Animals, and Environments
Urban + Rural